Because inflation is taking its toll on their pockets, a lot of people, here in Karachi, flock to shop at the makeshift weekly markets for saving some money on their household monthly budget where usually the flea market (Lunda Bazzaar) stalls manage to attract the most of the crowd. I have been visiting such flea markets since almost over 10 years where i shop for almost everything including art work, shoes, toys, clothing and professional kitchen utensils. but i have noticed a lot of people buying from such stalls don’t consider the fact that these items are usually used, even if they are seared they may have been stored improperly or may have been contaminated during storage or in transit and can pose a health hazard if not disinfected and washed properly before use. hare is your guide to what you should and should not buy and how to avoid exposing your self and your family to potential health hazards.

Toys, specially the stuffed ones are the most commonly sighted item at these flea markets, i have seen a lot of people buying them and handing them right away to the kids. We all know that Stuff toys are made of stuffed fabric, which is an absorbent martial, that means it will absorb any liquid they may come in contact with.The stuffing in these soft toys is usually of 100% polyester fiber, which is less absorbent but often at times these toys are stuffed with cotton which is a highly absorbent natural fiber. you must understand that these toys while been used previously, or during storage may have been exposed to chemicals, toxins, or fluids which may contain germs and may prove extremely lethal if digested. When ever you are buying stuffed toys make sure the item is washable. never hand over toys to your kids with out properly washing them with some and a germicidal like Dettol. Hard / Solid toys too may contain some contamination, or may have been exposed to some toxic chemicals so they too should be washed properly with detergent and Dettol before they are handed over too your kids.

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I noticed this sign of “Think Red. Think Health.” a while back on Shamsheer (next to S. Abdulla) and now it says, “Think Organic. Think Health”. Seems like a new outlet is opening up but of what?
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Sometimes children bring such sanity of things that leaves adults speechless. I felt the same, when I went to the KGS organized blood donation camp “Lifeline” today. Win hearts, give blood, save lives. (more…)

Top Surgeons from the Asia’s top medical facility held a one day consultation for patients suffering from Gastro and Neurology related diseases.

ParkwayHealth, one of Asia’s leading private health-care group sent two of its top surgeons to held free consultations in Pakistan.

The visiting surgeons provided free consultancy to the Neuro and Gastro patients in free sessions held at a local hotel in Karachi.

The consultation was done by Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon Dr. Prem Pillay, who specializes in Computer-Aided/Image-Guided Surgery for Brain Tumors; and Consultant General Surgeon Dr. Melvin Look, specialist in Gastrointestinal Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery.

PakwayHealth has organized the consultancy sessions through its Pakistan based Patient Assistance Center where the patients can follow-up on their cases and if necessary can avail the newly launched attractive packages at any of the Parkway Health facility in Singapore.

The recently launched series of fixed price package covers various surgical procedures and includes all costs relating to inpatient care such as hospitalization, nursing care, facility charges and doctor’s fees.

The move is in response to the current economic condition and is aimed at helping patients better manage costs.

The event will enhance the already existing healthcare facilities extended to Pakistani citizens in all key medical areas such as cardiology, ENT Surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics & gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery and urology.

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About ParkwayHealth

ParkwayHealth is one of the leading private healthcare groups based in Singapore, operating 15 hospitals with more than 3,400 beds in Asia, as well as 43 patient assistance centres throughout the world. It has an extensive network across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East with operations in nearly all Asian countries including Pakistan,

With a team of more than 1,300 accredited specialists covering over 40 different specialties, ParkwayHealth is committed to its vision to be a global leader in value-based integrated healthcare.

For more information, please visit the website at: www.parkwayhealth.com

Post credits: Hasan Zuberi

Thalassaemia major is a fatal disease of the blood. Many people go on through their lives while having thalassaemia minor and never knowing about it. When two such individuals produce a child , the child has a very large chance of having Thalassaemia major.

For a Thalassaemia patient to have any chance of survival they need a blood transfusion every 15 days of their life. Currently the demand for blood for these patients is 15000 bottles of blood a month. The blood banks of this city cannnot and do not provide enough blood for these patients and this is why many of them die premature deaths, many times before reaching adulthood.

Kashif Iqbal Thalassaemia Care Centre (KITCC) is all set to launch a blood bank which will cater exclusively to the needs of these patients. A year ago MB from Karachi metroblogs did a post about this organization here.

All of us can give blood once every 3 months, I urge all of you reading this to please if possible provide blood to this organization. Your precious blood will save a persons life through them. I also urge all the bloggers of this forum to take up on Mb’s initiative and spread the message of awareness for this center and disease. It is very important for 2 thalasaemia minor patients not to marry and have children to add to the toll of this disease, for this people are advised to get blood tests done before marriage.

Please note (KITCC) provides blood “FREE OF COST”. i personally will not only be donating blood for this cause but will try to round up as many people as I can to do this. Please help, your help is needed now!!!!

Their contact info is

Kashif Iqbal Thalassaemia Care Center (KITCC) , Becham Road, Laiqabad, Landhi, Karachi – 75120
(+92-21)-8232414 , (+92-21)-4515600 , (+92-21)-5021188 (Fax)
kitcc@gem.net.pk

A few weeks back the much acclaimed ghazal singer Mehdi Hasan fell critically ill and was admitted to Agha Khan Hospital for extensive treatment. Many people shared their passion for this gazal maestro to an extent that a few government dignitaries offered financial assistance to the ailing singer.

It is being reported that the President Asif Zardari and the chief minister of Sindh have provided Rs1 million and Rs250,000, respectively, for the treatment, while a cheque for Rs500,000 that was received from the Punjab government after the then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif visited Mr. Hasan at the hospital could not be cashed due to the imposition of the governor’s rule in the province. In the aftermath of these events, the bounced cheque did go through but during the time being Mehdi Hassan’s son was told to meet with the governor of Punjab [Salman Taseer] to ‘sort out the matter’
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Ever since the first coming of BB in Pakistan the doors to liberalism were thrown wide open and out came a whole lot of demons to our generally conservative society. Among them was the easy availabilty of home distelled liquor or moonshine which is brewed in shuttered garages and small back yard distilleries all across Karachi.

The current Minister of excise and taxation has started to address this problem by raiding several spots in this city where such liquor is openly bought and sold.

The sad part is that these raids are only being conducted for the benefit of the many “red and blue” colored government license shops operating across the city selling official liquor. The question thus is of taxes unpaid on the sale of homegrown liquor and not that this ill is spreading in our society without check.

Even putting aside the religious castration that drinking alcohol is attributed to, drinking home grown liquor can lead to blindness, fits as well as other side effects because the manufactiring is more of a bhatti kind then proper processing. As a city we need to recognize the wide sale of both imported and home grown liquor here and regularize the process rather than letting it operate on a bootleg basis. I regularly see kids and women lining up at a liquor shop near my workplace on the way back, and it chills my heart that people are being sold alcohol without check of age or any other verification.

The sooner we realize that this problem now exists in our society on a wide scale basis the faster we can engage it and try to address it. I appeal to our newly appointed Chief Justice to after coming into office take suo motto action on the unchecked sale of alcohol in Karachi and bring it out in the open.

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